


In My Head, We Belong

by dollalpaca



Series: Waitress AU [2]
Category: RuPaul's Drag Race RPF
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Forgive Me Father For I'm Back On My Bullshit, One-Sided Attraction, Slow Burn, Waitress AU, daily updates, not a waitress the musical au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-04
Updated: 2020-04-10
Packaged: 2021-02-28 21:00:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 11,822
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23483467
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dollalpaca/pseuds/dollalpaca
Summary: Gigi tries to keep her feelings for Crystal as a secret while juggling orders, her side job as a seamstress, helping her very clueless friend Jan ask an equally clueless Jaida out on a proper date and begging Silky, Heidi and Dusty to please stop their Who Can Cook Faster competition.
Relationships: Crystal Methyd/Gigi Goode, Jaida Essence Hall/Jan Sport, Nicky Doll/Jackie Cox
Series: Waitress AU [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1711372
Comments: 85
Kudos: 177





	1. it's hard to keep my cool, when other bitches tryna get with you

**Author's Note:**

> Another day another fic! This time I present to you my project for Write The House Down, the same challenge I wrote ['Bottled Up Feelings'](https://archiveofourown.org/works/22622122) for. :) Hope you enjoy it! Any feedback you have will be greatly appreciated as I try to keep my sanity during this challenge lol. Also - please consider participating! [Here's a link to the challenge/blog!](https://writethehousedown.tumblr.com/)
> 
> The title comes from Doja Cat's Streets. All of the titles of the chapters will be bits of the song. :)
> 
> Frey is the bestest beta, as always.

Widow’s restaurant might not be a five star one - or four even - but she keeps it neat and clean, the walls get painted whenever Widow spots the tiniest of cracks in the paint, and she’s got a handful of regular patrons. She’s also the best boss Gigi has ever had.

She makes sure they all eat a good meal before beginning with their shifts, pays them a little extra the nights they’re full and still manage to serve all customers as good as they can, understands when they can’t come to work for whatever the reason might be, and doesn’t need much explanations when they request a night off, because she trusts her girls. As far as the staff is aware, Widow is an angel disguised as a human.

They’re usually full on Saturdays, the kitchen turning into a war zone as Dusty, Heidi, and Silky try to get the waitresses orders ready, sometimes competing between each other who’ll gets their order ready the fastest. For a moment it’s amusing to the waitresses, until they get carried away and have to be reminded that it’s not time for their foolishness, it’s time for dinner.

This Saturday though, it’s almost empty - a couple with their kids being the only clients they’ve gotten so far, since a storm broke loose.

“Well, the weather man _did_ say we’re gonna have a few days with rain,” Jan comments, standing in the tip of her toes to watch the rain from the window of the back door.

“Yeah, but this is not _Singing in The Rain_ type of rain, this is like, I dunno, _Sharknado_ kinda weather,” Crystal replies, throwing a green nine to the table. Jaida huffs and reaches for a card in the pile before passing.

“Have you ever seen _Sharknado_?” Heidi asks; her brows are knitted in a confused frown as she throws a green +2. Silky bangs her fist on the table, proceeding to frantically search for a card to kill off Heidi’s.

“… No,” Crystal admits at the same time Silky slams a +4. “Fuck! I hate y’all,” she groans as she draws six cards from the pile. Heidi and Silky high five with smug smiles and giggle.

Gigi watches them, completely amused, leaning against the door frame. She’s not sure if they should be playing Uno during work hours, despite not being a single soul around, but Widow gives them more liberties than a boss normally does. Hell, sometimes she’s the one to come into the kitchen with a Uno deck, asking if anyone wanna play.

“I’d join, but I feel like Heidi and Silky have some sort of trickery going on,” Brianna says, mindlessly scrolling through Instagram, glancing up at them from time to time.

Gigi looks at the pair, noticing the looks they share from time to time and cocks a brow. She’s not even surprised; Heidi and Silky _are_ a competitive duo, though Heidi shows it a lot less.

“Do you think one of them is sitting on a bunch of +2 cards?” Gigi asks, stifling a giggle. Brianna snorts, locking her phone.

“Most likely, it’s like the fourth time they made Crystal pick up since they started playing. Notice how suspicious it is that she hasn’t picked any +2 or +4 yet?” She comments just as Jaida slams a card on the table, yelling ‘Uno’.

Gigi snickers; though she prefers full nights because it’s a good moment for tips, she doesn’t mind when once in a while it’s completely deserted and they get to relax and have fun together.

Though that fun results in Crystal throwing her cards to the ground after a collective work between Jaida, Heidi, and Silky in which each of them throws a +4; she abandons the game saying she’ll never play again with them. She goes over to Brianna and Gigi with her arms folded and a childish pout.

“Please, tell me I’m not the only one that believes they’re cheating,” she says as she looks back at Silky and Heidi. They’re now battling against each other to see who the final loser is, and it’s honestly hilarious.

“I wouldn’t be surprised; I’m used to them cheating whenever we play anything. They’re competitive bitches,” Gigi replies, Crystal laughs softly and Gigi smiles to herself.

Sometimes the fact that she’s still there after two years surprises her; she’d never thought she’d actually like this job and her co-workers, considering them her second family.

She also has feelings for one of the members of said family, but she’ll never say that out loud.

Gigi’s so distracted by her thoughts, she doesn’t hear Jackie behind the door, almost falling on her back if it wasn’t for her.

“Wow! You okay, G?” She asks with a concerned voice. Gigi nods, and Jackie helps her stabilize herself. “Girls, please clean this up, believe it or not we’ve got clients. Silk, they ordered two menus of the day; can you take care of it?”

Silky stares at Jackie for solid five seconds before slowly starting to get up and all of a sudden there are several Uno cards spilled all across the floor. Well, guess Brianna was right.

“You cheating bitch! I knew you had something up in your sleeve,” Crystal exclaims, completely offended.

“Or your ass,” Jaida points out with a laugh, kneeling to pick up the cards. “You are one shady bitch, someone remind me to tell Widow to ban you from the Uno games.”

“Ban who from Uno?” Widow asks as she enters the kitchen. Jaida points at Silky, telling her about the cheating. Widow clicks her tongue. “Silky, I’ve told you already; if you’re gonna cheat, put those cards in your thighs, not ass!” Widow scolds, but soon she’s loudly laughing along with Silky.

Jackie pinches the bridge of her nose, counts until ten, and claps her hands, hurrying Silky to get her orders ready. Then, Widow remembers why she stepped into the kitchen in the first place.

“The storm is getting really bad; does everyone have a way to get home safely? I wouldn’t mind going out of my way to drop some of y’all off,” she offers, speaking loud enough so everyone in the kitchen can hear her.

“My grandpa lent me his car because he heard it’d rain today. I could also drop some of y’all home,” Dusty pipes up from the other side of the room.

“I came here with Jesus and an umbrella, so I’ll take any of you two on that,” Heidi says, looking back and forth between Dusty and Widow.

“Well, John is picking me up today, so I guess I’ll pass.” Crystal shrugs, and Gigi knits her brows in a frown.

“Who’s John?” Gigi asks before she can stop herself. Crystal looks at her with a toothy smile that may or may not make her heart sting a little.

“Oh, he’s a guy I met at a friend’s birthday party. We’ve been going out for like, two weeks or so. I thought everyone knew, I’ve pretty much annoyed everyone during Friday’s lunch shift talking about him,” she explains excitedly, and Gigi has to restrain herself from letting her devastation show on her face.

“I’m not on the lunch shifts, just the night ones,” she simply says, and the topic soon goes back to the previous one, Gigi remaining silent for most of the conversation, except to say she’d appreciate a ride home.

The rest of the night remains uneventful, since they’ve got no other clients. They close early, and they only leave when Crystal’s guy arrives, the redhead quickly says goodbye to all of them as she climbs inside his car with a big smile.

As she stares out the window, watching how the streets empty more and more, Gigi thinks she couldn’t be upset with Crystal for going out with people, since she isn’t planning on confessing her feelings to her.

It doesn’t mean it hurt any less, though.


	2. you live on yours so far away

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey guys! thanks for the love in chapter one. 💖 i'm happy that you're liking this fic :) as always, comments are very much appreciated! frey is an angel for beta-ing.

“Crystal!”

Crystal turns around, looking for Gigi’s voice in the crowd of people. She knits her brows in a frown, holding on tight to her umbrella. It’s not raining as much as the past days, it’s rather faint, but she’s got nice eyeliner for the first time in ages and she doesn’t wanna ruin it.

Gigi appears in her vision range a moment later, elbowing people to get to her. She doesn’t have an umbrella; instead she’s got a yellow raincoat slightly longer than her uniform. Crystal smiles a little, thinking she looks like a cute little duck.

“Hey,” she greets breathlessly. Crystal covers the both of them with the umbrella and starts to walk again.

“Whatcha doing with the uniform? Are you cheating on Widow with another restaurant?” Crystal asks with a giggle. Gigi laughs softly, shaking her head slightly.

“No, I’m just cheating on the night shift,” she replies nonchalantly, “Apparently Blair called in sick; she’s got fever or something like that. Widow asked me if I could cover for her just for today.” Gigi shrugged, trying to tame her wet hair.

“Oh, shit, I hope she gets better. She and Jan always put on a musical on Wednesdays, it’s everyone’s favorite part of the day,” she comments with a small smile.

Crystal doesn’t have that many shifts in the morning, only on Wednesdays and Fridays, and the rest of the time she works nights, but she always looks forward to Wednesdays for Jan and Blair’s spontaneous musicals.

Wednesdays are also the days John comes by to have breakfast at the restaurant and Crystal elbows everyone on her way to serve him.

“The morning shift sounds nice and all, but I usually do most of my orders in the morning. I couldn’t sew to save my life when I’m tired, y’know?” Gigi says, Crystal then remembers about Gigi’s independent job as a designer and seamstress.

“How’s business going, by the way?”

Gigi smiles widely and pulls out her phone as she wraps an arm around Crystal’s bicep. She shows her a photo of a messy sewing room with five mannequins half dressed.

“So far it’s going great. Apparently there’ll be a lot of weddings in spring, because I’m mostly getting commissioned by people who are attending to a wedding. It’s nice though, I’ve always liked weddings.”

“Are you a romantic gal, Miss Gigi?” Crystal asks with a sneaky smile. Gigi rolls her eyes as she puts her phone back into her pocket.

“Not at all; it just happens that weddings are especially good for spreading my name around. There’s always that one aunt, you know which one, that goes around talking shit and doing condescending compliments that no one likes. She’s always the one to ask ‘where did you get that dress?’ in the most insulting way ever, though she secretly likes it. Once she gets the name she sends her children to find the designer on social media, because of course she does, and then she contacts me, and now _she’s_ causing envy in her social circle, and her friends _need_ to know who did that suit for her.” Gigi finishes her ramble taking a deep breath.

Crystal cackles loudly at Gigi’s rant, covering her mouth with her free hand to try and stop it. Gigi is possibly the most expressive person when it comes to telling stories, and she loves it.

“Oh my God, has any of that actually happened?” She manages to question between hiccups of laughter. Gigi shrugs.

“A couple of times,” she admits, and they both fall into a fit of laughter.

Laughing with Gigi is a nice way to start the day, it helps her distract from the fact John left her on read when she sent him a nice good morning message, and she’s not really sure if it’s good or bad, though it’s probably the latter.

*

The restaurant has a nice vibe in the mornings, with all the plants Widow bought to decorate the place along with the endless photos and portraits hanging from the walls, it looks more like a house with too many tables and chairs, rather than a restaurant.

Crystal comes and goes between the tables, serving coffee to men in suits, kind grandpas, and brings crying children a sweet treat as requested by their parents to make them shut up.

Jan is sad to hear her singing partner isn't feeling well, but she still sings while she delivers orders nonetheless. Gigi watches her while she giggles and tries to record her for the restaurant's group chat. Crystal has to admit that though she misses Blair, it's interesting to see Jan trying to sing a duo all by herself.

When the performance is over, Crystal goes back to looking at the entrance every other minute, hoping to see John behind the glass with his fancy suit and charming smile. 

She checks the hour in her wrist watch. 8:45 a.m. He should come in any moment, she musters to herself.

*

It’s 10 a.m. and there’s no sign on John yet.

Crystal is trying to block out the fact he’s left her on read and hasn’t appeared yet by trying to look interested in Jan and Gigi’s conversation.

The traffic has slowed down a little, and since all of their current customers already have their orders, the three girls are chatting near the kitchen.

“Jan, I swear to God spring has something that’s especially good for weddings, because yours will be the sixth dress I have to make,” Gigi says as she stares at the design Jan is showing her. “In fact, I was talking to Crystal about it when we ran into each other earlier today,” she comments and Crystal is now forced to actually pay attention to the conversation.

“I think it can be because people find it romantic to have a wedding when the flowers are blooming,” Crystal offers as an explanation, shifting her weight from one foot to another, trying to ignore how heavy her phone feels in the pocket of her uniform. “Whose wedding are you going to, by the way?”

“I think I have told y’all about my cousin Cheryl, the one that looks a lot like me,” Jan wonders. The name echoes through Crystal’s head.

“The UK girl that came for your birthday party last year?” Crystal asks, knitting her brows in a frown.

“Yeah, her! She’s getting married later this spring, and thankfully I don’t have to worry about the plane ticket because she’s, like, from the rich side of the family, so they’re paying for my flight.” Jan flips her hair a little and Gigi whistles.

“No wonder why you want such a fancy design. What? Are you gonna try to seduce one of her British friends?” She asks with a snort and the girls laugh. Crystal notices the scrutinizing look Gigi gives Jan and tilts her head.

Jan blushes a little and bites her lower lip.

“I dunno, I think I’ve already got someone here…” She leaves the sentence hanging in the air and excuses herself from the conversation by saying she saw one of her customers wave at her.

Crystal frowns a little and Gigi snickers, covering her mouth with her hand. She looks at Gigi with a slight frown.

“What’s so funny?”

Gigi looks at her with a smirk; her left brow is slightly cocked as she looks back at Jan.

“What? Did you not know she’s sleeping with Jaida?” She inquires, now looking at Crystal with her head tilted to the side, completely confused.

Crystal’s mouth hangs open for a solid minute before she gasps a little, looking back and forth between Jan and Gigi.

“No way!” She manages to say, and Gigi lets out a chuckle. “I would’ve never guessed. How’d you know?”

“Did you really not know? Girl, you’re the one that shares a shift with Yuhua, that bitch’s the biggest snitch ever. She told Brianna one time she had to cover for you and then Brianna told me. I thought you knew.”

Crystal blinks repeatedly, scratching to the back of her brain in hopes of remembering Yuhua telling her anything about it, but she can’t, she’s in blank.

“Apparently everyone knew but me,” Crystal mumbles, suddenly realizing how much sense it all makes. It’d explain why Jan is always shooing them when it’s her and Jaida’s turn to close the restaurant on the night shifts.

Well, she should’ve suspected something with such blatant signs, but if Crystal is known for something, it's how oblivious she is.

“Well, everyone knows Jan has a massive crush on Jaida _but_ Jaida herself,” Gigi comments softly, fearing that Jan would hear them.

Crystal sighs. Of course Jan and Jaida are sleeping together and Jan is the one pining. For a moment it reminds her of the ‘friends with benefits’ trope she used to read — and write, but that’s something she won’t talk about — in One Direction Fanfics.

“Imagine having a crush on someone you literally work and sleep with, but they ain’t got a clue.” She snorts, turning to see Gigi. Gigi’s looking at her with her lips slightly pursed, the emotion in her eyes is one Crystal can’t put a finger on.

Gigi parts her lips slightly, but shuts them almost instantly. She gives a soft sigh before excusing herself.

Crystal aims to go after her, but her phone vibrates and she smiles when she pulls it out and sees it’s a call from John, forgetting about Gigi’s weird behavior in a heartbeat.

*

John apologizes profusely for not having texted to tell her he had a super important meeting out of the city, but he swears he’ll make it up to her with dinner at her favorite restaurant. He tells her he’s picking her up and Crystal is grateful that she always brings another set of clothes to work; you never know when a bratty toddler will spill their lunch on you.

He arrives just when she’s about to finish her shift and waits for her by the entrance. Crystal sprints towards the bathroom with her bag hanging from her arm the moment her wrist watch indicates her shift is over.

She gets changed with a toothy smile, trying not to take too long, because punctuality is something John is greatly obsessed with, and re-applies her lipstick, feeling all giddy.

Gigi enters to the bathroom with her hair down, still wearing her uniform. She’s got her backpack on her arm and her raincoat hanging from her shoulders, Crystal smiles at the image she had that morning of Gigi as a little duck.

“Hey, what got you so happy?” Gigi asks with a little smile, setting her backpack on the counter.

Crystal cleans the edges of her lips before replying.

“My guy’s waiting for me; we’re going to have dinner together. Isn’t he cute? He wants to make it up to me because he couldn’t be at the restaurant this morning,” she replies with the excitement showing in her tone. Gigi rummages through her backpack, jerking her head up a little.

“Is he the guy in the dark blue suit? The one by the entrance?” Gigi wonders with her brows slightly knit in a frown. Crystal nods enthusiastically.

“Yes! He’s cute, right?” She repeats and Gigi smiles, though it looks somewhat forced.

“He looks very nice indeed.”


	3. baby, i tried to fight it

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> day three is here and i'm not really satisfied with how i turned out the prompt "puddle." But I hope you guys enjoy nonetheless :) for those who follow me on tumblr, you might notice a familiar scene with a few tweaks here and there! 
> 
> frey remains the best beta for putting up with my non-sense

“Let me see if I understand correctly,” Jan says as Gigi takes her measurements. Gigi rolls her eyes, completely embarrassed at Jan’s slightly mocking tone. “You had the perfect opportunity to tell Crystal you like her due to the irony of her comment.” Jan pauses and turns to face Gigi, who groans and tells her to be still. “And then you didn’t?”

“And then I didn’t,” Gigi repeats, staring back at Jan.

Jan snorts as Gigi finishes taking her measurements. The blonde rolls her eyes and walks toward the table, adding the measurements to the sketch of Jan’s dress.

“Y’know, you’re the last person that should be making fun of me,” Gigi points out in an accusatory tone. Jan immediately shuts her mouth, knowing exactly what Gigi’s talking about, but refusing to acknowledge it.

She wanders around the room, trying to look interested in the many mannequins with half-finished dresses. Gigi looks at her over her shoulder, and her face softens up a little.

“Jan, if it helps in any way, I think she definitely likes you too,” she says softly with a smile, and Jan sighs a little before coming closer.

“Is it true? That everyone knows about us already,” she asks with a small voice. Gigi chuckles with a nod and Jan’s cheeks turn red. “Oh my God, it was Yuhua, wasn’t it? She went around spreading it. I knew I saw someone behind the door, but Jaida didn’t believe me.” Jan folds her arms with a pout and Gigi laughs loudly.

“She’s a loud mouthed bitch; you can bet everyone knows already. I think there’s also a bet on when you two are gonna become official, ‘cause, y’know, you usually look at Jaida with heart eyes. Even if Yuhua didn’t discover you two, you kinda just give it away with the way you look at her, which is ironic because everyone but her seems to notice.”

Gigi laughs and Jan hides her face in her palms, her face getting redder with each second. She squeals a little and Gigi goes over to her to pat her shoulder.

“Same,” she merely says as she keeps on patting Jan’s shoulder.

When Jan’s embarrassment washes off, she looks at Gigi bashfully.

“Do you really think she likes me?” She wonders, her voice is small and there’s a tinge of hope in her tone.

Gigi smiles warmly; she knows Jaida, they’ve been friends for years now —Jaida got her the job at the restaurant, actually— and she’s never seen her friend so infatuated with someone. She’s naturally deadpan most of the time, but it took Gigi a total of five seconds to put two and two together, having noticed the way Jaida is more cheerful around Jan, how, when they have night outs, Jaida turns down everyone to dance with her, and she remains sober to take good care of her, how sometimes she smiles at the things Jan does or says when she thinks no one is watching her.

Gigi is positive her friend’s feelings are beyond a simple liking. But she’ll let Jan discover that herself.

She feels a twitch of jealousy when Jan leaves with a promise of asking Jaida out per Gigi’s advice and telling her how it goes. Gigi knows that Jaida will say yes.

She’s happy for her friends, really; she knows they’re good for each other and will make a lovely couple. But she can’t help but want what they have, or will have, anyway.

Gigi starts constructing Jan’s dress and tries, for the love of everything holy, to push Crystal to the back of her brain.

*

The next week Jan calls her and screeches so loud Gigi has to put her phone away until she stops.

It goes without saying that she has a date with Jaida. She pretty much just starts rambling about what she's going to do now, where she's going to take her, what she should wear; Jan is freaking out because she asked Jaida out on an impulse and hasn’t planned anything.

At work she’s got Jan being all giggly around Jaida, and talking to her in hurried whispers, asking for her opinion on various restaurants she thinks Jaida will like. Gigi merely tells Jan to send her a photo of the place later and she’ll judge it, all while juggling her orders.

It’s already confusing as it is, and then Crystal steps into the picture.

“Hey G, have I told you that you look stunning tonight?” She begins with a sing-sang tone and Gigi scoffs, already knowing she needs something.

Gigi’s hair is tied into a bun that is starting to fall apart four hours into her shift, her baby hairs are plastered across her forehead with sweat, there are various stains in her uniform, and she’s not wearing an ounce of make-up; Gigi thinks she’s many things, but right now ‘stunning’ isn’t one of them.

“Yeah, right, and Silky doesn’t cheat in Uno. Spill, what do you need?” She replies bluntly, hearing how Silky complains a few feet away. Crystal acts offended and Gigi chuckles.

“Why do you think I always compliment you when I want a favor? Jeez.” Crystal folds her arms and Gigi cocks a sly brow. “I was gonna ask you to let me borrow the dress you wore at Brianna’s birthday party anyway, compliment or not.”

“Absolutely not,” Gigi replies without a second thought.

The dress Crystal’s talking about is one of her favorites, not only because she made it, but also because she looks nothing short of a goddess when she wears it. Gigi thinks for a moment how Crystal would look wearing it, and though it’d compliment her strawberry blonde hair, she refuses to give it away, just so Crystal can try to impress a man that doesn’t deserve her.

“Please, G! I’ll take the Sunday shift if you let me borrow it!” Crystal begs, putting on puppy eyes, a pout, and all that jazz. Gigi huffs, tapping her foot on the marble floor waiting for her order.

She knows Crystal has a date with this guy she’s been seeing for the past month, and to be honest, she doesn’t like him. He looks dodgy, he has bad breath, and his eyes seem to scan every girl in the room despite having Crystal hanging from his arm. Gigi can’t wrap her head around why or what does he have that attracts Crystal so much.

(Gigi would give everything she got to have what he has, but that’s not something she’ll ever say out loud.)

“You said that the time I lent you my orange skirt and I’m still here on Saturdays. Save your breath, Crys,” she replies as Dusty hands her order and she leaves.

But Crystal is insistent; she quickly grabs her order from Dusty’s hands and goes after her.

“Please! I’ll go talk to Widow right now if that’s what you want; I swear this time it's for real!” She puts the clients’ orders down and speaks hurriedly to Gigi, who bites her lower lip. Having Sundays free does sound like a good deal…

(She tries not to think about the part where Crystal adds an extra day to her shift for a guy she’ll eventually regret going out with.)

She gives in with an annoyed groan as they make their way back to the kitchen.

“Fine! But, bitch, I swear, I’ll haunt you down if you return it like you returned my green blouse,” Gigi warns, pressing her finger on Crystal’s chest. The green blouse affair had been with a different man; to this day Gigi feels the stickiness on the fabric. Why hadn’t she thrown it out yet, she doesn’t know.

“Thank you! I’ll go talk to Widow right now, love ya!” Crystal kisses her in the cheek, near her lips in a fast move that leaves Gigi breathless for a couple of seconds before Heidi tells her another one of her orders is up. “Oh, and Gigi?” Crystal says before she goes.

Gigi looks back at Crystal and her heart might just stop right there and then at the sight of her happy smile.

“You do look stunning.” She winks at her, and though Gigi is used to Crystal saying some variation of it whenever she complies with her wishes, it still makes her heart flutter.

The rest of the night goes uneventful, or, well, as uneventful as it can be on a full night; Jan still asks for her opinion in the most mundane things regarding her date, Crystal looks radiant, Jaida tries to keep her cool with asshole customers, and Dusty, Heidi and Silky decide to do their famous Who Can Cook Faster competition in the heat of the night, earning either an eye roll or a cheer from the girls, no in between.

*

“Are you done yet? It’s not that hard to tie the laces!” Gigi asks leaning against the doorframe.

It’s the day of Crystal’s date and she’s trying on the dress for the first time, part of Gigi knows it’s because that if it doesn’t fit her, Gigi is capable of wiping out a dress for her in the blink of an eye — also because she has a massive wardrobe and they’d for sure find something that fits Crystal.

“You say that because you designed it,” Crystal whines and Gigi chuckles. “Can you teach me how to tie it?” She inquires, opening the door and peeking slightly from behind.

Gigi swallows thickly and nods. The dress is made from a shiny black fabric and Gigi could’ve just turned it into a standard black mini dress with thin stripes, but she likes to stand out, so she deepened and widened the cleavage… A lot, and then did a pattern with stripes so the front resembled a corset. It fits her perfectly because her breasts are almost non-existent, but Crystal…

She steps into the room and her breath gets caught in her throat when she looks over at Crystal; she’s untied the stripes and is holding the dress in place, looking at her with a bashful expression. Gigi inhales deeply and comes closer to her, indicating to move her hands aside so she can tie it.

Gigi takes the ends of the stripes and narrates the whole process. Her fingers brush against Crystal’s warm skin while she’s working her way up the dress, and if she hears Crystal inhale sharply and feels her muscles tense under her touch, she doesn’t mention it.

She reaches the end and she’s careful when she tugs at the stripes to tighten the dress.

“… And then you can make a bow with the ends, like this, see?” Gigi instructs, trying not to let her voice quiver as she ties said bow.

When she’s done, she takes a step back and admires Crystal. It’s safe to say she’s lost the ability to speak completely.

When Gigi doesn’t say anything, Crystal heads to Gigi’s mirror and checks herself out. She lets out a little excited squeal that absolutely melts her heart.

“Gigi, it looks beautiful!” She exclaims with a toothy smile, admiring herself in the mirror.

“You are beautiful,” Gigi says without thinking it twice, looking at Crystal as if she’s the reason the sun comes out every day.

Crystal turns to look at her, and Gigi witnesses how her expressions change slowly.

A cold sweat runs down her back when Crystal squints slightly at her and inhales sharply. Has she noticed the way her fingers twitch after touching her skin? The way she looks at her with such yearn; longing to be the one she has a date with?

If she notices she doesn’t say it, and though Gigi is relieved it makes her heart tighten a little.

“Thank you so much, G,” she says softly, a smile blooming on her face. Gigi smiles widely. “You’re a great friend.”

Gigi freezes the smile on her face and nods. Though, on the inside she feels as if she’s wearing socks and just stepped into a puddle.


	4. you held me so down, so down I never grew

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi, hello, i'm sorry for the shit that happens in this chapter. it gets better, i promise. have fun!
> 
> frey is the best beta, even if she hates my characters' poor life choices

Spring is closer with each day that passes, therefore the nights are getting warmer and people can go out with lighter clothing. Crystal’s dress isn’t lighter clothing at all, so it’s positive to say she’s not quite freezing, but it’s still very cold regardless.

Her mascara is running down her cheeks, her hair is a mess thanks to the wind, and her feet are aching oh so bad. She never thought she’d have to walk ten blocks back to her apartment like that.

But then again, she never thought John would take her to a nice restaurant to tell her he didn’t want something serious with her and would prefer that after that night they cut contact.

Much like in _Legally Blonde_ , Crystal stormed out of the restaurant in a dramatic manner, completely embarrassing John, and probably herself too. But she was — and is— too mad to care.

Crystal feels the strap of her heel loosen, and a wave of panic hits her at the thought of walking home with a broken heel. She’s gone clubbing like that, sure, but she’s usually too drunk to pay it any mind. 

She huffs, looking for her phone in her purse, not really knowing who to call, until she notices she’s not so far from Gigi’s apartment building. Crystal pauses when she’s about to call Gigi, for once thinking twice before doing something.

There’s something about Gigi’s behavior in the past days that make her think the craziest of things; perhaps Gigi _likes_ her and not precisely as a friend — the thought of it makes Crystal’s stomach twist. Gigi is out of Crystal’s league, for starters. Hell will freeze before a girl like Gigi finds Crystal attractive.

Then there’s the fact that Crystal crushed on Gigi intensely back when she first started working at the restaurant, and sooner than later she realized Gigi would never like her like she wanted.

It’s not as if she ever told Gigi her feelings, though; she just assumed her overly friendly nature whenever she tried to flirt with her was Gigi’s way of turning her down gently. And she accepted it, deciding not to push it and instead satisfy herself with Gigi’s friendship.

But now that she’s staring at her so much and unsaid words linger on her lips, Crystal debates if she should entertain the idea of Gigi having a crush on her after all this time, or convince herself all over again that she likes her as a friend.

Crystal groans. It’s much to think about and she’s not very fond of thinking right now, not when her feet ache, she got dumped, and her shoe is slowly falling apart.

So she decides to call Dusty. She’s not sure if she lives near, but she could use some of Dusty’s odd way of cheering people up — and her pastries, too.

It rings three times before she picks up, her tone sounds slightly confused as she asks Crystal if she needs something.

“John dumped me.” It’s the first thing that comes out her mouth. “And my heel is broken, and I’m still far from home, do you think I could stay over at your place for the night?” She says, whining a little.

“Oh, honey, I’m so sorry. Where are you?” She replies with another question. Crystal looks around and tries to describe it as best as she can. “Stay right where you’re at, I’m picking you up. Be there in five,” she promises before hanging up.

Crystal waits patiently, clutching her purse whenever the cars honk at her, with her phone ready to call Dusty in case anything happens.

She spots Dusty’s grandpa’s car before it actually pulls up beside the sidewalk and hurries to get in. Dusty holds her hand as she drives back to her place and Crystal mumbles a soft thank you.

*

“Men are trash,” Dusty declares once Crystal is done telling her about her date. Crystal hums in agreement, her mouth full of cake.

Dusty is probably the best pastry chef out there, and if she’s not, she’s still the best in Crystal’s eyes.

“It’s either that, or I attract assholes for some reason, ‘cause I swear I’ve only dated douchebags in my entire life,” she complains, sipping her juice.

They’re in Dusty’s bedroom, because her grandpa is fast asleep and her bedroom is far from his. They got slices of various cakes neatly placed on a plate, and since they got no alcohol, they’re sipping on apple juice in boxes. Dusty let Crystal borrow one of her pajamas and now they’re having a sleepover. Life isn’t as crappy as moments ago.

It’s sort of weird, considering they’re both grown women, but Crystal and Dusty pride themselves on being unapologetically weird. It fits them.

“That’s not true! Remember when you dated this chick, God, what was her name? Yvie, was it? She was nice, and, highkey, the only one of your exes I still respect,” Dusty comments and Crystal purses her lips.

“Yeah, but, like, I meant men. You know I only date women once in a blue moon; I feel if as all of them are out of my league.” Crystal sighs and stuffs her mouth with more cake.

Dusty knits her brows in a frown.

“I mean, you can feel like that, but it doesn’t mean it’s true,” she points out, “Like, bitch, big same, I feel like that most of the time. But I also know that I deserve a girlfriend as much as anyone else, because I can make a mean cake, and any girl would love a girlfriend like me.” Dusty flips her hair over her shoulder and Crystal laughs.

“I think any girl would love to date you, honestly,” Dusty adds sincerely, reaching for her hand, and Crystal squeezes it right back.

“Thank you, _Pecas_. That’s really nice from you.” She smiles a little, and Dusty smiles right back, scrunching up her nose like she always does, and Crystal sees how the freckles on the woman’s nose seem to make a one big beauty mark.

The night slips away between cake, apple juice in boxes, and stories about people they used to date, and for a moment Crystal considers telling Dusty about Gigi, but it’s a broad topic, and they’re running out of cake, so she zips it and tries not to think about it for the rest of the night.

*

A week has passed since John dumped Crystal and she’s fine. She really is.

She doesn’t even need to tell the girls, because they guess it when she spends three days without speaking about him, and when Wednesday arrives, there’s no sign of John at the restaurant.

Her job keeps her from thinking too much about it, though; each night is as tiring as the last, and it only increases when the weekend rolls around. All her mind can think of are the details Karen recited while she ordered something for her kids. Heidi complains about said Karen when Crystal finishes talking.

“I swear, if the little shit doesn’t lick this plate clean,” Heidi grumbles and Crystal laughs.

“What do you wanna bet they won’t even touch the food,” Silky pipes up and Heidi rolls her eyes.

“I’d have a polite conversation with their mom—”

“And then you’d choke her with the food,” Gigi interrupts, causing the girls to laugh. Heidi agrees with her in a playful tone. “Do we have any slice of lemon pie left?” She asks Dusty. She nods, and then Gigi goes on her way to find her order.

Crystal stares at her for a moment, before she has to go back to check on her tables.

She hasn’t stopped thinking about Gigi in the past week, overthinking every gesture she has made towards her. Like, when she offered her a hug when she returned her dress and said how sorry she was about it; Crystal didn’t believe it for a second. There was something in the way she said it, and her tone sounded almost relieved.

She wishes she could stop thinking about it so much. Crystal doesn’t want to bring her old feelings for Gigi back to life. She’s not sure if she’ll be able to bury them this time around.

Crystal is going back to the kitchen when she looks at the entrance and sees John, with his fancy suit and hair full of gel. They lock eyes the moment a blonde enters behind him and clings to his arm. He looks at Crystal with a cocky smile, and she's not sure how she's keeping her anger in that well.

Crystal doesn’t know what offends her more; the fact that he’s brought his date to the restaurant, or that she’s _hot_. Like, out of this world hot. What is such a catch doing with someone like John?

She goes to the kitchen with heavy steps, and she’s ready to yell that she’s giving 50% of her tips tonight at whoever serves him to spit into his food, but she stops to think about it for a moment; is it really worth it?

She finds that she doesn’t care.

She lingers at the kitchen’s door frame and bites her lip when she sees Jackie is the one that’s serving John and his date, and she doesn’t seem the least bit happy about it. Crystal smiles a little.

“Who are you spying on?” Gigi asks with a playful tone and Crystal jumps a little.

She turns to look at her and then points at Jackie as discreetly as she can. Gigi comes closer to see and her demeanor changes when she notices it.

“That little bitch,” she mutters with disgust. “No offense to bitches, clearly, but… Jesus, how can a human be so vile? Has he got no shame?”

“Who are we talkin’ shit about?” Jaida inquires and Crystal jumps again. How can they be so sneaky when they’re normally loud as fuck?

“Crystal’s ex is here with his new girl,” Gigi fills her in, and Jaida gives an offended gasp.

“He did _not_.”

“He did! And the worst part: his date is hot. Like, ‘I’m not even mad he replaced me with her’ hot,” Crystal whines, and Jaida scoffs after taking a look at her.

“Who’s serving them? Jackie?” She asks and Crystal nods. Jaida has a devilish smile as she goes after Jackie.

Crystal has a feeling this won’t end well, but isn’t quite sure for who.

*

The kitchen erupts in nervous laughter when Silky spits on the sauce she’s pouring on the plate of pasta Crystal’s ex ordered.

Though Crystal wanted to do it herself, she doesn’t have the courage to do it. But when Silky overheard the waitresses’ conversation, she couldn’t help it. “He deserves it,” she said. They all made a silent pact not to tell Widow about it; she was a good boss, but she sure wouldn’t be on board with this little joke.

They make Jackie tell her the details of when she brought them their orders; apparently he didn’t have any complains so far, and that only made the situation more hilarious to them.

There’s also the fact that John’s date was eyeing Jackie up and down; well, according to her at least.

“I’m telling you, she was giving me the eye,” Jackie says when the shift is over and they’re all getting ready to go home.

“Yeah right, and I qualified for master chef,” Heidi retorts, and Jackie punches her arm playfully.

Crystal would laugh, but her cheeks already hurt from all the laughter. She’s happy though, and incredibly grateful for her friends. They sure are like a ray of sunshine in her life.

“Crys, wait up,” Gigi calls for her and Crystal takes a deep breath. “Do you mind if I walk with you? It’s Jan’s turn to close.” She giggles a little, and Crystal soon remembers Jaida is the other one in charge of closing.

“Oh. Now I can’t unsee that.” She scrunches up her nose, and Gigi laughs.

Crystal stares at her for a second too long and Gigi notices. She stares right back, and Crystal doesn’t know how they hadn’t hit something yet.

“How are you feeling, baby?” Gigi asks softly, and Crystal shrugs.

“I’m okay, you guys are an amazing support system,” she replies with a smile and a chuckle at the memory of Silky spitting on John’s sauce.

Gigi gives her a toothy smile, and Crystal panics slightly when she feels a familiar flutter in her stomach.

“We’ll always be here for you, honey.” Gigi does that thing again when she licks her bottom lip and her lips are slightly open, almost as if she wants to say something else.

Crystal thanks her, trying to stop overanalyzing everything Gigi does. She knows it’s not going to end well if she continues to do so.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> in case you want to angry shout at me, [my tumblr](https://chachkisalpaca.tumblr.com) is right here :))


	5. i'm pourin' my heart out

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> we're reaching the end guys! but these clowns still got some things to figure out. hope you like the chapter!

“Do you think Widow will like these?” Gigi wonders, holding up potted daisies. Jackie turns to look at her and hums a little.

“Probably, she used to have daisies in her garden,” Jackie comments, taking a flowerpot full of roses. “Do you think it’ll be too cliché to buy roses?” She inquires and Gigi shrugs.

Widow’s given them the weekend free, since she had to fly back to Kansas for her niece’s first birthday party, but before she left, she left the girls with the chore of picking out flowers to give the restaurant a more spring-like look.

Conveniently, there’s a fair in the park with tons of flowers of all kinds. So they decided to go together and kill two birds with one stone. Gigi is surprised at how, so far, they’ve actually focused on what they came to do, and Heidi and Silky have yet to run off on their own like feral children.

It’s nice. They rarely get to be all together at once, and they sure have one hell of a time when they’re together. Yuhua’s loud nature finally comes in-handy, when one of the girls wander off out of their sight, and though Blair’s allergies wouldn’t be called useful per se, they cheer and take notes whenever they come across a plant that doesn’t trigger Blair’s sneezes.

Then there’s Dusty and Crystal going around, looking for the weirdest plants they can find, saying that if Widow asks what were they on when they picked them, they’ll excuse themselves by saying it gives the restaurant an extravagant touch. Jackie is so amused by their rehearsed speeches that she can’t bring herself to scold them.

“G, what do you think of this one?” Crystal asks in an excited tone, picking up a pot full of yellow flowers that Gigi can’t recognize.

“They’re pretty, but what are they?” She wonders, looking for some sort of tag. She finds it hidden among the flowers; the tag reads ‘Daffodils’. “What do you think they mean?” Gigi jerks her head up to look at Crystal and she shrugs.

“I’m not really sure, does it matter though? They’re pretty, and would make Widow not so angry with Dusty and me after looking at our other suggestions.” Crystal snickers, and Gigi can’t help but chuckle, curious as to what have these two bought.

Crystal puts the potted flowers back to where she found them, and they keep on walking, trying to catch up with the others.

“My mom had a garden and she was really meticulous with all the flowers she planted. Like, she’d search for hours in her gardening encyclopedias the meaning of every flower before planting it. I can’t remember precisely what she said about the importance of the meanings, but it was important to her,” Gigi tells her, trying to inspect every flower that comes in her vision range as best as she can.

“Huh, I dunno if Widow’s like that, or if she’d care about it,” she merely replies, looking in amazement at all the variety of flowers.

Gigi steals glances at Crystal’s face out of the corner of her eye, trying to look interested in the plants. Gigi is sort of amazed at how, in a place full of beauty and flowers in bloom, she can’t pull her gaze away from Crystal.

There is however something that can make her stop staring at Crystal for more than five seconds, and that is Jan arranging a flower crown on Jaida’s hair with such care it makes Gigi coo.

“Can you believe these two?” Gigi inquires, pointing at the pair. Crystal looks in their direction and can’t help but laugh at the sight of a completely flustered Jaida. “They’re so sweet it’s disgusting,” she says, and Crystal snickers, turning to look her with a toothy smile.

“Maybe so, but they’re so cute! If a girl gifted me one of those crowns I’d probably die,” she assures her with a giggle. Gigi makes the mental note of asking Jan where she got the crown for Jaida.

They keep exploring the fair, and at some point Jan and Jaida get lost in the crowd, but Yuhua doesn’t bother calling for them, fearing she might interrupt something important.

Gigi tags along with Dusty and Crystal on their quest to find weird looking plants, and things are cool, until they catch up with Jackie and she’s talking with one of the florists, looking rather nervous, and they were all ready to poke fun at her, until Crystal notices something.

It’s the girl that John was on a date with.

Crystal isn’t mad, of course not; it’s been two weeks since John ditched her and one since he brought her to the restaurant, but she has no hard feelings against her. If anything, she wonders how she ever agreed on going out with him, and plans on asking her so.

“Hi Jackie,” Crystal says, catching Jackie and the woman’s attention. Jackie’s face gets as red as a tomato, and Gigi and Dusty get ready for a possible shit show.

“Hey guys. I— I’ve been looking for you, but I got distracted talking with Nicole.” She points at the blonde standing next to her - hair tied up in a high pony and wearing a pink apron covered in mud. It’s safe to say she looks nothing like the femme fatale they remember, but that doesn’t mean she’s any less stunning.

She laughs light heartedly and waves at them.

“Oh, please, just call me Nicky,” she says with a wink, and right away they all notice her accent. “Sorry I kept your friend, guess I couldn’t help it.” Nicky grins at Jackie and now Crystal is confused.

“Hey, um, I know we don’t know each other, but aren’t you going out with a dude named John? ‘Cause, like, he dumped me for you, but you’re pretty and seem so nice, how did you ever give him the time of the day?” Crystal inquires with a genuine concern that makes Dusty and Gigi gasp a little and they have to clasp their hands over their mouths to keep themselves from falling in a fit of laughter. Jackie is even redder than before, completely embarrassed, as she covers her face in her hands.

Nicky blinks repeatedly until she process Crystal’s questions, and her face contorts into a disgusted expression when she realizes who she’s talking about.

“Oh, darling, no. We just met through a common friend and he asked me out; I couldn’t make it past the first date, because he kept talking about his job and shutting me down when I tried to talk about my flower shop, or just straight up ignored me and acted like he was interested.” Nicky folds her arms with a frown, and Crystal takes a step forward, gasping a little.

“No way! I also met him because of a friend. But, like, I accepted to go out on a second date with him because he looked genuinely interested when I talked to him about my paintings, though now that you say it I’m starting to doubt about it.”

Crystal and Nicky soon hit it off by complaining about John and talking about their hobbies. Dusty and Gigi have to drag Jackie away, because the brunette can’t believe Crystal has ruined her attempt of flirting with Nicky.

They poke fun at Jackie about it as they try to find the others. They spot them sitting by one of the many tables set in a zone full of junk food, laughing loudly and showing the rest the plants they acquired.

“Where have y’all been?” Yuhua asks as they’re dragging some chairs near the table. “We ended up getting a shit ton of flowers, because Jackie wasn’t around, like I’m not even kidding. I have no clue how Widow will water these many plants.”

Jackie laughs loudly as she sits between Heidi and Blair, rolling her eyes a little.

“Y’all weren’t lying when you said I’m ninety nine percent of the impulse control in the staff,” Jackie says with a playful grin.

“You’re like our mom, and Widow is the cool aunt that everyone likes,” Brianna pipes up, and through the laughs the entire group agrees. Jackie shrugs, she’ll take it.

“Hey, by the way, where’s Crystal?” Heidi wonders, looking around.

Dusty replies before Gigi even opens her mouth.

“She’s stealing Jackie’s girl as we speak,” she exclaims and the girls let out a collective screech, while Jackie’s cheeks go back to being red.

“She’s— I barely know her!”

“But she could’ve been your girl, hadn’t Crystal interrupted you!” Dusty is quick to reply again and the laughs only get louder and louder.

Gigi laughs too because what the hell, it’s funny and the way Jackie looks as if she wants to just get up and leave only makes it funnier. But there’s also a sting of unjustified jealousy in her chest when she thinks of Crystal flirting with Nicky.

Crystal joins them five minutes later and Gigi notices how she’s trying to bite back a wide smile.

Then, she remembers she has something to do, so Gigi pulls out her phone and sends a text to Jan as discreetly as she can.

*

“Have you seen Crystal?” Gigi asks Blair, who merely shrugs.

“I think she was near the—” Blair is interrupted by a sneeze; Gigi says ‘bless you’ while Blair pulls out a tissue from her pocket. “Near the bonsai ladies,” she finishes with a sniffle. Gigi chuckles a little and thanks her, telling her to go ahead, that she’ll catch up with them later.

She turns around, trying to remember where were the bonsais and once she remembers, she can’t help but feel her stomach twitch. It was next to Nicky.

Gigi takes a deep breath. _‘It’s fine, Crystal knows nothing about flower meanings any way.’_ She speeds up her pace and soon spots Crystal’s strawberry blonde hair in the crowd.

She smiles a little as she approaches them, trying to not let the nerves get to her. She can do this, she got it.

“Hey, Crys, I’ve been looking for you,” Gigi says when she’s near enough. Crystal jumps a little, slowly turning to see her as she hides something behind her back. Gigi squints slightly.

“That’s weird, I was going to look for you too,” she comments sheepishly, glancing at Nicky, who looks completely amused.

“Oh, Gigi, your crown is done, here,” Nicky says, reaching for a Red Chrysanthemums crown. Crystal cocks a brow as Gigi receives it, her face getting as red as the crown she’s holding, and Nicky looks back and forth between them.

“I’m, uh, this isn’t how I planned to do this,” Gigi begins to say, holding out the crown to Crystal. “This is for you, and, I— I thought it’d go well with your hair, I guess. But, um, they also have a nice meaning—” Gigi bites her tongue. Shit, she wasn’t supposed to bring up the meanings.

Crystal has a soft smile, but Gigi panics slightly when she doesn’t take it; her heart gives a thud when Crystal holds up a Sunflower crown.

“I got this for you,” she says, while her cheeks get a slight rosy tone. “I didn’t notice that these go well with your hair too, though.” Crystal laughs a little and Gigi giggles nervously.

They exchange crowns and say goodbye to Nicky before going to find the others, submerged in a silence that’s not really awkward, but none of them know what to say. So they silently slip their hands together in the crowded areas, with the excuse of not wanting to lose each other.

Back in her stall, Nicky wonders how long it will take for them to notice that Red Chrysanthemums literally mean I love you while Sunflowers mean friendship. 


	6. i put a ring on when you ready

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> we're close to the end and i wanna cry. i hope you guys enjoy this chapter, it's what the clowns deserve after all the shit I put them through lol. tomorrow's chapter will be a short-ish epilogue :)

Crystal wants to slap herself when she finds the type of flowers used in the flower crown Gigi gifted her.

 _I love you_. That was the literal meaning of Red Chrysanthemums. _I love you_. It was straight to the point and it left no room for questions.

And what did Sunflowers mean? _Friendship_. Jesus, had Crystal indirectly and accidentally friendzoned Gigi? God, she feels so stupid.

She tries to not beat herself up too hard, remembering Sunflowers can also mean adoration, but Crystal has no control over what meaning Gigi decides to give Sunflowers.

Crystal soon realizes she’s worrying too much for, allegedly, not having a romantic interest in Gigi anymore.

She freaks out a little, because how could she not? Gigi (probably) just blatantly told her she likes her through the language of flowers, she friend zoned her without knowing it, and she’s worrying too much about Gigi thinking she did so intentionally. But did she? Does she really see Gigi as a mere friend? Doesn’t she feel anything more for her? Have her old feelings quietly resurfaced or, moreover, did she ever stop liking Gigi at all?

Crystal revisits the past two years in the blink of an eye, thinking about all the times her heart has fluttered at the sight of Gigi all glammed up during their night outs and she looked nothing short of a goddess, or when they walk home from a tiring shift and, even when she could use a shower, Crystal always finds her equally beautiful whenever she smiles.

She thinks of all the times her cheeks had hurt from laughing at a bad joke Gigi said, and excused herself by saying she’s just easy to make laugh. She thinks of all the nights she’s crashed at Gigi’s house and fell asleep contemplating her face.

Crystal thinks and thinks and thinks, and she finds not all of them are tinted with romance. Some are just really good memories she has of Gigi as a friend, and some are from when she was head over heels for her.

An oddly specific memory hits her when she looks out of the window and stares at the New York City’s lights, imagining they’re stars. Once, when she was staying at Gigi’s place, they snuck out into the rooftop with a bottle of wine, a blanket, and some pillows - just because they could. Naturally, they couldn’t do anything like star gazing, but they sure talked about everything and anything, even if it was pure nonsense.

Gigi sleepily snuggled against Crystal’s chest at some point. Crystal could just stroke her hair until Gigi fell asleep in her arms, and there was such a warm feeling in her chest as she watched Gigi sleep, she couldn’t put it into words; Gigi’s warmth lingered in Crystal’s body for days after.

That had been at the end of last summer.

For a moment, Crystal is dumbstruck. Does it mean she likes Gigi? Is it even possible to like someone without noticing it, and if it is, how had she gone so long without noticing it?

There’s too many questions for someone with an empty stomach, and Crystal thinks better when her stomach is full.

Though, that probably should be put up to debate the moment Crystal thinks it’s a good idea to ask Gigi over text if she wants to grab a coffee tomorrow at their usual place, with the intention of talking about the meaning of the flower crown — though she clearly leaves out that part.

Gigi reads it just when Crystal starts regretting such a poor life choice.

_Lady G: sure! I have a meeting with a customer at four, is five thirty good for you?_

Crystal breathes in deeply as she types a confirmation. Gigi replies with two heart emojis, and Crystal inhales sharply.

*

Crystal comes to the conclusion that she’s stupidly impulsive while she waits for Gigi at the café.

She’s been nervous about it for the entire day, staring at the clock and thinking it’s broken or something, when the time passes painfully slowly.

She’s not really sure why she’s doing this if her feelings for Gigi aren't clear. Only two weeks ago she was crying because a douchebag ditched her, but there’s something in her that wants to believe it’s a good idea. Communication is always good, right?

“Crystal?” Gigi’s soft voice speaks, making Crystal jerk her head up. She feels her heart give a thud, but she attributes it to the nerves and not to how pretty Gigi looks in that white blouse paired up with a baby pink plaid skirt. “Hi, um, you weren’t waiting for me for too long, were you?” She inquires as she sits down, placing her purse on her lap.

Crystal shakes her head, and it isn’t really a lie; she’s just been there for ten minutes, mentally preparing herself for possibly her worst impulse yet.

“No, I’ve just arrived, it’s all good.” She gives her a smile, and Gigi smiles back.

They have no idea what to say, so they greatly appreciate it when one of the waitresses swings by to take their orders.

“It feels weird when you’re on the other side,” Gigi says once the waitress is gone and they just have to wait for their orders. “Sometimes I automatically put on my customer service smile when I approach people or vice versa, it’s weird.” They laugh shortly, and it’s a good way to kick off their conversation.

They talk about random stories, the shows they’re watching, remember past night outs or gatherings, stories about their time in college or High School, and soon Crystal forgets about what she initially wanted to talk with Gigi.

It helps calm down her nerves, though. So when she sees the opportunity of bringing up the flower crown when Gigi mentions her mom’s garden again, she takes it without hesitation.

“Oh, um, speaking about flowers, there’s something I wanted to talk with you about,” Crystal begins, and though she tries to hide it, she can see how Gigi becomes uncomfortable, her shoulders tense and the smile on her face becoming awkward. “I know what Red Chrysanthemums mean,” she says softly, and Gigi’s demeanor changes once again.

Her cheeks turn crimson red in the span of a second and she looks away, her hands twitch, so she hides them under the table.

It all confirms Crystal that Gigi didn’t gift her the crown out of pure coincidence. But she asks her either way.

“Gigi, I need to know if it was intentional, please,” Crystal begs her, trying to catch a glimpse of Gigi’s eyes.

She nods sheepishly, finally meeting Crystal’s scrutinizing gaze.

“Yes,” she manages to say. Crystal inhales sharply. “I… I was kinda hoping you’d never notice. It wasn’t how I wanted to tell you. Though, to be fair I wasn’t planning on telling you, like, ever,” Gigi confesses and Crystal’s heart stings a little.

What would’ve happened if she never bothered to find out the flower’s meaning?

“I’m— I know that you don’t feel the same, I understand it. I swear I’ll try to get over it if that’s what you’re worried about.”

Crystal knits her brows in a frown. Gigi’s words unexpectedly hit close to home for her.

“Y’know, when you started working at the restaurant, I rehearsed those same words in my head whenever I thought you _knew_ ,” Crystal comments, trying to sound as casual as possible, but her legs are bouncing and her palms are sweating. Gigi frowns, not understanding what Crystal means. It leaves Crystal surprised, to say the least.

“I had a crush on you when you started working at the restaurant, but I guess I kinda forced myself to stop it, ‘cause, y’know, when I tried to flirt with you, you’d brush me off by being just friendly,” she says and Gigi gasps, covering her mouth.

“Crystal, I swear to God I never knew. For real I thought you were being nice! Like, at that moment I just wanted to fit in and try to get used to the job. I never noticed you—” Gigi stops herself in the middle of the sentence to rubs her temples, and Crystal watches her in a stunned silence.

Wow. She really is bad at reading people’s feelings.

“How ironic, huh? When you don’t have feelings for me anymore, I get a crush on you,” She laughs awkwardly, but Crystal cocks a brow.

“I’ve never said I don’t have feelings for you,” Crystal says quietly, and Gigi shuts her mouth, looking completely dumbfounded. Crystal hesitates before continuing. “I mean, lately my feelings for you have been confusing, because I feel different around you now. But a good different.”

Crystal smiles warmly and Gigi softens up a little, fidgeting with her hands.

“So what now?” She inquires bashfully. Crystal shrugs.

“We go on a date?” Crystal offers doubtfully. Gigi giggles.

“Doesn’t this count? I think it does.”

Crystal nods with a laugh and she swears she’s never seen Gigi smile so wide.


	7. in my head, we belong

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is it. we've made it.  
> thanks to everyone that commented and left kudos! and also the gays of the jankie candle gc ❤

“Are they always this intense when they play Uno?” Nicky wonders, pressing her cards against her chest. Gigi snickers with a shrug.

“They’re usually more violent,” she merely replies, and Nicky musters something in French.

It’s Jackie’s birthday and since it happens to also be Easter, they decided to celebrate in the restaurant. And the best part is that they didn’t even have to spend a dime on the decorations - it’s already decorated with all the flowers they compulsively bought at the fair. It’s nice, even if poor Blair is on the edge of drowning in tissues because of her allergies.

True to themselves, they decided to play Uno once dinner was over, and Jackie may or may not be regretting inviting Nicky the moment they decided to play said game.

“Jaida, honey, I don’t think you should throw that one,” Jan says, she’s sitting across Jaida’s lap, and, allegedly, helps her play; but it only causes Jaida to lose all common sense, and that results in her having half of the deck already.

“Jan, I don’t think you’re helping,” Yuhua pipes up from the other side of the table, causing the group to snicker.

Jan pouts, folding her arms, and Jaida is quick to place a kiss on Jan’s cheek.

“Don’t mind them, babe, you’re an amazing help,” she assures her and Jan smiles giddily.

Normally, Gigi would make a comment on how disgustingly sweet they are, but she’s lost her Making-Fun-Of-Jan privilege; she’s got an arm wrapped around Crystal’s waist and her chin placed on her shoulder, watching her play.

It’s been almost three weeks since they found out they both liked each other thanks to the mere flower crowns, and so far they’re happy. Really happy. It was awkward at first, getting used to each other’s random ways of showing affection after just being friends all this time.

They haven’t told the other girls yet, but it’s not as if it’s necessary. Sometimes Crystal will steal kisses from Gigi as she’s waiting for her orders, or Gigi will smile with fondness at anything Crystal says or does. It’s safe to say they’re pretty transparent about it, not even bothering to hide it.

“ _Nena_ , don’t throw that one; you got three +4, why not start a war?” Crystal whispers in her ear with a devilish smile. Gigi does as she says, because why the hell not.

So she slams a +4 and the table gasps, Nicky groans and throws a green +2. And Blair might look innocent, but all that innocence flies out of the window when she slams another +4 on the table, exclaiming ‘not this time, bitches’ with a high pitched tone. But Heidi isn’t about to pick up ten cards, so she also responds with a +4, and she gives an evil laugh as she sees Silky panic and search between her cards for anything to kill off Heidi’s.

But sadly, this time around she’s got nothing.

Silky bangs her fist onto the table with a frown.

“Crystal, you bitch, I know you told your woman to throw that +4 to get revenge,” she exclaims in an accusatory tone, prompting the whole table to erupt in laughter.

Gigi’s heart gives a jump when Silky refers to her as ‘Crystal’s woman’. They’re not official yet, but somehow the title it doesn’t bother her.

Crystal sticks her tongue out and laughs.

“Don’t look at me, it’s simply karma!” She lies seamlessly with a shrug, and Gigi snickers.

“Wait, that reminds me, haven’t I banned you from Uno?” Widow asks, throwing a red five to the pile and restarting the whole thing. Silky shrugs with a smug smile.

“Blame Miss Brianna over here, she was the one in charge of handing out the cards.” Silky points to the blonde, who cocks a sly brow.

“Bitch, I didn’t hand you anything, you took out seven cards on your own when no one was looking,” Brianna points out, and Silky folds her arms with a childish pout.

Nicky laughs wholeheartedly and elbows Jackie softly.

“You weren’t lying when you told me your coworkers take Uno very seriously,” she says with a giggle that melts Jackie’s heart.

She’s happy they haven’t scared Nicky off; Jackie truly spent days asking herself if she should invite Nicky to her birthday party, not only because she knew her coworkers, but also because they’ve been fooling around for a short time and she didn’t want to give out any wrong ideas to Nicky.

The environment is nice, even though every once in a while they go on another screaming match because someone throws a +2 or a +4, thus starting the war all over again. Gigi only watches everything go down as she snuggles against Crystal.

The evening goes by in the blink of an eye; at some point they grew tired of playing Uno, so they just decided to tell embarrassing stories about past gatherings or weird things that happened during their shifts. And even though most of them try to embarrass Jackie in front of Nicky, it only causes the French woman to grow closer with her, and Jackie can’t believe someone finds it cute that one time they went clubbing and at 3 a.m. she willingly locked herself in a stall, because on the other side of the world there was a figure skating competition and, for once, Jackie had found a place to watch it live beforehand.

When the party’s over, everyone gives Jackie a hug before heading home, and even though Dusty offers to drop them off, Crystal and Gigi reject her offer, preferring to just walk to Gigi’s apartment with their hands linked.

As Crystal and Gigi fall into the latter’s bed, Crystal wearing a worn-out oversized shirt Gigi stole from her brother years ago, Gigi thinks gifting Crystal the flower crown was probably one of her best ideas so far.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> see you on the next one!!

**Author's Note:**

> [My Tumblr!](https://chachkisalpaca.tumblr.com) :D


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